Tags & Description
Ayatollah
Literally, "sign of God." A high-ranking cleric in Iran.
Theocracy
A state dominated by the clergy, who rule on the grounds that they are the only interpreters of God's will and law.
Majles
The Iranian parliament, from the Arabic term for "assembly."
Guardian Council
A committee created in the Iranian constitution to oversee the Majles (the parliament). Also determines who can be president of Iran.
Leader/Supreme Leader
A cleric elected to be the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Appoints military chiefs of staff
Farsi
Persian word for the Persian language. Fars is a province in south Iran.
People of the Book
The Muslim term for recognized religious minorities, such as Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians.
Qur'an
A book of the sacred text of revelations made to Muhammad by Allah.
Pahlavi
Dynasty that built highly centralized state. Ruled from 1925-1979. Made Resurgence party.
Bazaar
An urban marketplace where shops, workshops, small businesses, and export-importers are located.
Political islam
A term for the intermingling of Islam with politics and often used as a substitute for Islamic fundamentalism.
Jurist's Guardianship
Khomeini's concept that the Iranian clergy should rule on the grounds that they are the divinely appointed guardians of both the law and the people.
Pasdaran
Persian term for guards, used to refer to the army of Revolutionary Guards formed during Iran's Islamic Revolution.
Assembly of Experts
Group that nominates and can remove the Supreme Leader in Iran. The assembly is elected by the general electorate, but almost all its members are clerics.
Hezbollahis
vigilantes in Iran and Shi’i militia in Lebanon
hojjat al-Islam
Literally, "the proof of Islam." In Iran, it means a medium-ranking cleric.
Islamism
The use of Islam as a political ideology. Similar to political Islam and Islamic fundamentalism
Rentier state
A country that obtains much of its revenue from the export of oil or other natural resources and doesn't have to rely on its internal tax base.
Dual society
A society and economy that are sharply divided into a traditional, usually poorer, and a modern, usually richer, sector. There are also significant inequalities within the traditional and modern sectors.
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
An organization dedicated to achieving stability in the price of oil, avoiding price fluctuations, and generally furthering the interests of the member states.
Expediency council
A committee set up in Iran to resolve differences between the Majles (parliament) and the Guardian Council. Example of Maslahat
Imam Jum'ehs
Prayer leaders in Iran's main urban mosques.
Foundation of the Oppressed
A clerically controlled foundation set up after the revolution in Iran.
Maslahat
Sunni concept Khomeini introduced to have public interest or expedient interest leading to Expediency Council resolving conflict between the Majles and the Guardian Council
Failed state
a country whose political or economic system has become so weak that the government is no longer in control
Pariah state
a nation considered to be an outcast in the international community and often subjected to isolation and various sanctions
Shi’ite
Ethnic majority in Iran
Mahdi
12th Imam
Caliph
Successor of Muhammad; chief Muslim civil and religious ruler
Reza Shah
Last shah of imperial kingdom of Iran
Mohammed Mossadeq
35th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, after appointment by the 16th Majlis.[4][5] He was a member of the Iranian parliament from 1923, and served through a contentious 1952 election into the 17th Iranian Majlis,[6] until his government was overthrown in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état aided by the intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom (MI6) and the United States (CIA),
Qajar Dynasty
Turkic origin,[10][11][12] specifically from the Qajar tribe, ruling Iran/Persia from 1789 to 1925
Resurgence Party
Iran's sole legal political party from 2 March 1975 until 1 November 1978
Savak
Shah’s secret police
Shariah
Laws following Islamic religious tradition
Afghanistan
Country east of Iran and south of turkmenistan
Persian gulf
Gulf south of Iran
Iraq
The other large shi’ite country
Caspian Sea
Sea north of Iran